The Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry is a key contributor to the UK economy, contributing over £1 billion annually and it is the Scottish Government’s intention to double the value of production by 2030. The potential for this expansion is severely constrained by major disease challenges, however, particularly infestations by the salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer, 1837). This parasite currently represents the most serious disease problem affecting the Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry in the northern hemisphere, with annual losses to salmon farmers exceeding £500 M in Norway alone1. The struggle to prevent and control salmon lice is currently the UK aquaculture industry’s most significant challenge, and novel R&D initiatives are crucial to tackle this. One difficulty encountered in developing new treatments is the fact that the sea louse life-cycle cannot be maintained in vitro. The sea louse has a complicated life cycle, with the infective free-living copepodid stage becoming parasitic early in the life cycle, relying on its salmon host for survival. This means a constant supply of host fish are necessary to supply sufficient adult lice for research purposes. The aim of this studentship is to develop in vitro culture/feeding assay systems that will serve both to reduce the number of fish used in sea lice research and provide novel in vitro research and bioassay approaches. The study will focus on developing substrates for feeding sea lice in vitro; establishing continuous sea louse cell lines; adapting tick explant culture approaches for sea lice and developing bioassays for in vitro sea lice studies.
This project will provide the student with a strong background in in vitro culture methods, 3D cell culture and bioimaging, and sea lice biology and culture. They will be registered and work at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, but will work closely with the supervisory team at Moredun Research Institute. They will also be required to undertake an industrial placement with the Aquaculture team at Moredun Scientific Ltd (MSL).
The Institute of Aquaculture is an international centre in aquaculture and the largest of its kind in the world, tackling global problems of food security, hunger and sustainability through aquaculture. MRI is internationally recognised for its research on the prevention and control of infectious diseases of livestock, including fish, and the improvement of animal health and welfare. MSL is a contract research organisation specialising in animal health and aquaculture product development and biosafety testing of biopharmaceuticals.
Application forms and Reference Request forms can be downloaded at this link: http://www.eastscotbiodtp.ac.uk/how-apply-0
Completed forms should then be sent to Moira Maron at [Email Address Removed]